The Return of the King
by CrazedNinja
Summary: Mid-Boss challenges Laharl to a one-on-one duel in his castle, requesting that he bring Etna as well for unknown reasons. EtnaxMid-Boss, Spoilers for the good ending of the first game. Updated 5/10/10.


Author Notes: I wrote this because in the tiny world of Disgaea fanfiction, there seems to be no EtnaxMid-Boss love whatsoever. Yet when you really think about it, the pairing is so obvious. But all I ever see involving Etna is her with Laharl! I don't understand! D: (if anything, Laharl needs some Flonne lovin' more than anything.)  
This is actually an abridged version. The original version of the story on my LiveJournal has a longer, NC-17 ending. But it's friends-locked in order to protect the childrens. The erm, "adult" aspect is the only thing that was cut out of this version however (well, and some of the language was toned down just a teensy bit to make it PG-13) so you're not missing anything if you don't want to read about that kind of stuff.

UPDATE! 5/10/10: It's been a while, huh? To those reading for the first time, beware. This fic is pretty awful in retrospect. The only reason I haven't deleted it yet is because if it's truly as bad as I think it is, someone will probably reupload it somewhere anyway, so I might as well make things easier for those who want a good laugh at my expense.

* * *

It was a gorgeous day in the castle of Overlord Laharl. For the first time in decades, the general area around the castle had seen rain. Yes, it was pouring. But the king of the castle wasn't so happy about this.  
"Man, this sucks. I want to go out and fight monsters, but I don't want to get all wet!" Laharl punched a hole in a wall. "Hey Etna, I broke another wall. Could you call the Prinnies?"  
Etna, Laharl's right hand Demon, sighed. She was a young girl with fiery red hair tied in two spikey pigtails, wearing a black miniskirt with a white stripe down the middle and a very short black leather top. She had small wings, though larger than Laharl's, and a long, thin tail ending in a spade-like shape, though to many it closer resembled an upside-down heart. "Prinnies, get over here!" she called out. The 'Prinnies' arrived. These creatures were living, stuffed penguin dolls that actually contained the souls of deceased sinners, who were forced to perform good deeds to repent for their crimes. These particular Prinnies served as Etna's vassals.

"Hey Laharl, one of Mr. Mid-Boss' Faeries just arrived with a letter for you!" a high-pitched girl called from the next room. It was Flonne, an Angel who had been sent from Celestia to assassinate Laharl's father, King Krichevskoy, the previous Overlord, but after finding out that Krichevskoy had already been dead for two years and seeing Laharl's indifference on the matter, Flonne had given herself a new mission: To observe Demons and see if they're capable of love.  
"Well, bring it over here!" Laharl said as he lay down on the couch. Flonne ran into the room and gently handed him the letter. He ripped it open, tossed the envelope on the floor and read the letter as a Prinny rushed over to the envelope to pick it up.  
"Dear Overlord Laharl,  
I shall not mince words.  
I wish to fight you one more time.  
A fair fight. One on one, no unfair  
advantages by those accursed  
Geo Panels.  
Please meet moi in my castle, and  
bring only the lovely red-haired  
mademoiselle with you.  
Looking forward to finally defeating you,  
Dark Adonis Vyers"

This 'Vyers' was Laharl's main competitor when he was trying to claim his throne. He insisted on being called the 'Dark Adonis', but mere moments after they first met, Laharl had nicknamed him Mid-Boss. Laharl had only fought Mid-Boss a few times before he claimed the throne and forgot all about him, but Mid-Boss considered Laharl to be his rival, constantly picking fights with him even after he had claimed the throne.  
"I wonder why he wants me to bring Etna if he intends to fight me one on one."  
"He probably wants to show off to me or something." Etna said with a smirk.  
"Be careful, Laharl! It could be a trap!" Flonne stated the obvious.  
"I know that. But Mid-Boss is about as smart as a brick, there's no way he could catch me in a trap!" Laharl gloated as he got up. "Let's go, Etna. I look forward to showing Mid-Boss once and for all that he can't beat me." Laharl walked over to the Dimensional Gate, a portal that connected all areas of the Netherworld to each other, as Etna followed him. "Hey, Dimension Guide, take me and Etna to Vyers Castle."  
"Yes, my liege." The portal opened, and Laharl and Etna stepped through. On the other side was the front gates of Vyers Castle, and it was still raining heavily.  
"Aw man, we should have brought coats or something." Laharl snapped his finger. "I hate rain..." he added with a grumble.  
"I think it's pretty. Though I do agree that we should have brought coats..." Etna shivered.

They walked into the castle. Although it was only a few yards, they were soaked by the time they got inside. It was then that they heard that all too familiar voice.  
"Welcome, my friends!" the self-proclaimed Dark Adonis himself greeted them as he walked down a long stairwell toward them with a pair of towels. He was a tall, slender man with silvery hair and ruby red eyes. He wore a pair of tight, black slacks and a short, open jacket with no shirt underneath. But something was different about him today. He was also wearing a very large helmet on his head, covering most of his silver locks.  
"Alright Mid-Boss, I just... what's with the helmet?"  
"That's for moi to know and you to... um... not know!" Mid-Boss retorted childishly, throwing the towels to Laharl and Etna as they dried themselves off.  
"Anyway, Mid-Boss, I just want to get this over with and go home!" Laharl said as a large sword materialized in his hands.  
"Not so fast, young child." Mid-Boss gestured for Laharl to halt. "Before our duel, I wish to speak privately with the lovely mademoiselle."  
"Talk to Etna...? Why?"  
"I see what you're trying to do." Etna said with a hand to her chin. "Pervert!" She pointed an accusing finger at him.  
"Wh-what?!" Mid-Boss was dumbstruck.  
"You-are-a-pervert!" Etna closed one eye, widened the other with her finger and stuck her tongue out at him.  
"That is not very ladylike..." Mid-Boss reached under his helmet and scratched the back of his head, flustered.  
"I just want you to know that I'm not some helpless little skank, pervert." Etna said.  
"I-it's nothing like that!"  
"Yeah right."  
"Please, just trust moi on this, Miss Etna!"  
"Alright, but if you touch me, I'll spear you... right there. 'kay?" Etna grinned.  
"Y... yes..."  
Etna followed Mid-Boss back up the stairs, and they were soon out of Laharl's sight.  
"Hm. I wonder what he wants to talk to her about that's more important than our duel."

Mid-Boss and Etna arrived in what appeared to be Mid-Boss' bedroom. Mid-Boss' back was turned to Etna.  
"Miss Etna... I have something to tell you."  
"Well, that's obvious. Why don't you say it to my face instead of looking away?"  
"Because I need to make this dramatic." Mid-Boss grabbed a pencil and appeared to be drawing on his own face. "Miss Etna, you've believed for the past two years that King Krichevskoy is dead, correct?"  
"Yeah..."  
"But that is where you're wrong." Mid-Boss now spoke in a much different, but still familiar voice. Etna felt as though she had heard this voice before, long ago. Mid-Boss turned to face Etna, and revealed that he had drawn a thin handlebar moustache on his face. He then took off his helmet and revealed a hairstyle similar to Laharl's, but with the antennae curling toward the ends.  
"You're..."  
"Yes. I am King Krichevskoy... technically speaking."  
"But how..."  
"After I died, I was resurrected by the Angelic Seraph, though I only retained a fraction of my original power. Unable to take back my throne, I came back to the Netherworld in disguise to watch over my son, and occasionally challenge him to make sure he stays strong."  
"K... Krichevskoy..." tears welled up in Etna's eyes, before she suddenly regained her composure. "Wait. How do I know you're not some stalker who just happens to know enough about the King to assume his identity?"  
"Why don't you ask me a few questions so I can prove myself?" Mid-Boss smirked.  
"Alright. What was the real reason for Maderas' banishment?"  
"He stole one of my Black Pretzels, of course."  
"Hm. Well, how many holes did you make in your favorite training dummy when you were younger?"  
"Twenty six."  
"Alright... here's a question I guarantee you won't know unless it's really you. What did I see when I accidentally walked in on you getting dressed one day?" Etna's tail twitched as she was approaching the end of this question, almost as if to remind her that it was hardly an accident.  
"Er... a scratch on my left buttock..." Mid-Boss blushed, "...from fighting a zombie earlier that da... eh?" before Mid-Boss could finish, he felt Etna's arms wrapping around him.  
"It... it's really you... I've missed you so much..." Etna said, becoming teary-eyed once again as she looked up at him.  
"I'm sure you have..." Mid-Boss returned Etna's hug. "But you must understand, Etna. I am no longer King Krichevskoy. I am Vyers, and to Laharl, I must remain Vyers. This is between us only." The two let go of each other, as Mid-Boss wiped off his pencil moustache and shook his hair so that it went back to its normal, straight-down style. Although he had reverted to looking like plain old Mid-Boss, Etna could now plainly see that he was indeed Krichevskoy. In fact, she thought he looked even better when he didn't have that silly moustache and allowed his hair to run wild.

"Krichevskoy... I'm so sorry..."  
"What ever for?"  
"I broke my promise to you... Maderas stole my memories... I tried to kill Laharl to get them back, instead of protecting him like you asked... I had forgotten all about your dying wish..." Etna's tears were now running down her cheeks.  
"I am perfectly aware of all that... but it wasn't your fault, Etna. I perfectly understand that it was completely out of your control." Mid-Boss wiped Etna's tears away.  
"Oh... Krichevskoy..." Etna's cheeks were now flushed after feeling the Dark Adonis' touch to her face.  
"Do you know why I waited until this particular day to tell you this?" Mid-Boss said, still caressing Etna's face.  
"Why...?"  
"Only weather this beautiful would be fitting for my confession to such a beautiful woman."  
Etna's eyes widened. She felt as if her whole body was on fire now. "B-but... what about your..."  
"Don't worry. I discussed the matter with her. She agreed that it's time for both of us to move on, now that she has been reincarnated and gone back to the Human World..."  
"Krichevskoy..."  
Etna and Mid-Boss kept leaning closer to each other until finally, their lips met. They embraced each other and sat down on Mid-Boss' bed. Eventually, Etna broke the kiss. "Krichevskoy... I... I always regretted not saying this before you died, but... I l-love you..."  
"I love you too... Etna..."  
Etna swooned and lay down. She was shaking.  
"Are you cold, Etna?"  
"Huh? N... n-no... I'm just shocked, that's all... I never expected you to come back, let alone tell me this..."  
Mid-Boss chuckled. He could tell that Etna was lying about not being cold. "I guess I would be shocked too if I were in your position." Upon seeing Mid-Boss' smile, Etna's heart melted.  
Mid-Boss lay down next to Etna as they kissed once again. Etna could not remember a time when she felt as happy before as she did now. Nor as confused; She never expected that Mid-Boss would turn out to be the man she had been in love with for as long as she could remember. But her confusion hardly mattered to her right now. The warmth of Mid-Boss' embrace filled Etna with an indescribable joy, until the two of them heard Laharl screaming from outside, "Damn it, what's taking them so long?!"  
"Sounds like he's getting impatient."  
"Oui, I would have to agree with you there, my dear." Mid-Boss had instantly reverted from being the charming King Krichevskoy to the eccentric Dark Adonis Vyers. He and Etna kissed one more time and went back to the main hall of the castle, where Laharl awaited.  
"I hope you two weren't doing anything gross!" Laharl said as Etna's face reddened.  
"We would never do anything of that nature, Monsieur Laharl." Mid-Boss responded, going into a fighting stance. "Now, en garde!"

The End


End file.
